


A Saturday In

by Perpetual Motion (perpetfic)



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, domestic as fuck, soft, washing machine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26343622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetfic/pseuds/Perpetual%20Motion
Summary: It's too damn hot to be outside, so Sonny and Rafael spend a Saturday at home.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40
Collections: Barisi and the washing machine, MforPaul's Fanworks Baby Shower!





	A Saturday In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mforpaul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mforpaul/gifts).



It's 85 degrees with 75% humidity when Sonny wakes up on the first Saturday he and Rafael have had off in two months. He grumbles at his phone and rolls over, curling into Rafael's back and smiling when Rafael leans back against him. 

"Let's stay inside all day," Sonny murmurs into the back of Rafael's neck. "It's too fucking hot to be outside."

"You just don't want to put on clothes," Rafael replies. 

Sonny kisses Rafael's shoulder and pulls himself up so he can look down at Rafael's face as he turns onto his back. "I mean, yeah. But that's not just the weather. I think I'm out of shirts."

Rafael chuckles and sits up, stretching his arms over his head. "I've been wanting to neaten up our bookcases for awhile."

"I'll start coffee," Sonny says, leaning in to brush his nose against Rafael's before pulling away to stand up and stretch. He pads out of the bedroom naked and walks to the kitchen. He flicks on the coffee pot, then opens the fridge and cupboards wondering if they have enough bits and pieces lying around to put together something that looks like breakfast. 

There are eggs and bread and an apple and a peach that appear to have survived their busy schedule without signs of overripening or rot. He also finds a half-block of cheddar and a tomato that's seen slightly better days but is still usable. 

Rafael walks out of the hallway from the bedroom, wearing a pair of loose cotton shorts. He has the laundry basket under one arm, half-full with their sheets and pillowcases, and sets it on the coffee table so he can strip the pillow covers off the couch pillows. When he walks into the kitchen to get the used towels, he steals a couple of cheese cubes from the small pile Sonny has going.

"I'm surprised everything's not in the compost bin," Rafael says as he carries out the dirty towels.

"You're not the only one," Sonny replies as he finishes with the cheese and wipes down his knife so he can dice the tomato.. "I'll put in for the grocery delivery after breakfast. We can order in something for lunch."

"I'm up for anything," Rafael replies. He drops the dirty towels into the laundry basket, then walks back up the hallway to the laundry closet. "Do you want shirts after I do this load?"

"As long as they get done in the next day or so, I'm fine," Sonny replies as he cracks the eggs into a bowl. 

Rafael hums in assent, and Sonny listens as he starts the washer and adds the detergent. There's a series of small splashes as Rafael drops towels, sheets, and pillow covers, into the machine. Sonny whisks the eggs with the cheese and tomato and pours the mixture into the waiting, hot pan. He starts slicing the apple and peach as Rafael closes the washing machine and walks back into the bedroom to gather the next load. 

Sonny lays the sliced fruit on a salad plate and places it in front of the chair Rafael always sits in at the kitchen counter. He pours them both a cup of coffee, then drops the bread into the toaster but doesn't press the lever down. The omelette is just starting to firm up on the edges, and he hates cold toast with hot eggs. 

Rafael comes back down the hall and sits at the kitchen counter, smiling at the plate of fruit as he picks up his coffee cup. "Thank you," he says. "This looks good."

Sonny smiles at him. "You're welcome. Keep an eye on the eggs for a second."

"Sure," Rafael says, glancing at the pan as Sonny walks around the kitchen counter and down the hall. 

Sonny slips on a pair of basketball shorts, then steps into the bathroom to brush his teeth and take his meds. When he walks back out into the main room of the apartment, Rafael's on his feet at the stove, carefully lifting the edge of the omlette with a spatula to check the cook.

"You wanna fold it?" Sonny asks, laughing when Rafael rolls his eyes. Rafael can cook, but he has never met an egg dish that he can properly fold or flip. Sonny steps up behind him and hooks an arm around his waist. He fits his free arm along the length of Rafael's and holds his wrist gently as he leads Rafael in scraping half the edge away from the pan and flipping it onto the other half of the omelette in one motion. 

"Witchcraft," Rafael murmurs like he always does.

Sonny hugs him and steps back to grab his coffee. "You had to be bad at something," he replies. "Otherwise, you'd be too good for me." It's also his standard response. 

Rafael shakes his head at the sweetness of Sonny's statement and presses the lever down on the toaster before turning to get the butter from the fridge. "Is jam on the grocery list?"

"I have no idea," Sonny admits as he bites into a slice of peach. It's just-almost too sweet, but for being the lone peach left in the crisper drawer, it's impressive. "I know we made one a week ago, but I don't really remember anything we put on it."

"Last week can suck my dick," Rafael says. 

"Agreed," Sonny replies, and they share a tired smile. The last couple of months have been busy in general, but last week had been an especially brutal run. Sonny's glad it's grossly hot outside and only going to get worse throughout the day and the weekend. It's not that they wouldn't spend their time together, but that they have a flimsy excuse to spend it all cocooned at home feels like exactly what he needs. 

Rafael butters the toast and places two pieces on each of the plates Sonny had laid out earlier. He cuts the omelette down the center and puts half on each plate, then slides Sonny's over to him as he carries his around the counter, silverware in his free hand. 

They eat in silence, bumping shoulders and occasionally leaning on each other. Rafael refills their coffees since he sits closer to the pot, and once all the plates are empty, Sonny stands and gets the notepad they use to make the grocery lists.

"Eggs, bread, fruit, cheese," he says as he lists each item. 

"Protein, vegetables, something for quick meals," Rafael adds as he stands and stretches again. He scratches absently at his shoulder and pushes his chair back under the counter. "I'm low on office snacks."

"Peanuts, cashews, salted peas," Sonny recites. "I'm missing something."

"Those little peanut butter cups," Rafael says. "And I'm out of those meal bars you found that don't taste like cardboard."

"Non-cardboard meal bars," Sonny replies just to see Rafael smile at him. "Anything else?"

"Let me check the bathroom," Rafael says. 

Sonny adds jam and peanut butter to the list, then checks his baking supplies. He's even low on those. It _has_ been a busy couple of months. 

"We need lotion and floss," Rafael calls from the bathroom. "And I need to place an order for those bath bombs you like."

"I'll do that after I put in for the delivery," Sonny replies. "How are we on detergent?"

"Most of a bottle," Rafael says. "The bathmat is getting frayed on the edge. Do we want a new one right now?"

"Let's table that for later," Sonny says. "It'll hold up fine for another week, and it's one more website to visit and search through."

Rafael gives him a soft look. "You can do two things today, and you've picked them?"

Sonny thinks about it. "I think I've got about five things in me, and the bathmat is very low priority." He and Rafael tackle the housework differently. Rafael takes one large task and knocks it out in a day, and Sonny picks a series of smaller tasks to space throughout a few days. 

Rafael nods in understanding. "I'll stay on laundry," he says.

"Thanks," Sonny replies. He freshens his coffee and carries it to the dining table. His laptop is sitting there, and he wakes it up and clicks the bookmark for their preferred market. He enters in the grocery list as Rafael walks to the bookshelves in the far corner of the living room and looks them over, clearly forming a plan. 

He walks down the hall, and Sonny listens to him picking up books from their nightstands and from the home office. He carries out three small stacks and places them in the armchair closest to the bookshelves. 

"Are you done with your latest bath book?" Rafael asks as he walks by again. 

"No," Sonny says. "But almost. You can pick my next one."

"Okay."

Sonny finishes with the grocery list and sets up the delivery time, then clicks the bookmark for the website he gets his bath bombs from. He makes sure to add a few extras of ones he knows Rafael likes and then adds a stack of shower bombs as a surprise because he knows how much Rafael likes to have them when he wants to relax but doesn't have the time for a proper bath. 

The washing machine buzzes as Sonny finishes his order, and he waves Rafael away from getting up from the small castle of books he's already built around himself. "I can get this one," he says. 

"Okay, thanks," Rafael calls over his shoulder. 

Sonny switches loads, filling the washing machine from the full basket Rafael had left on the dryer. He gets both machines running, then carries the basket into the bedroom to see what can go in next. Rafael's organized all their dirty clothes into various piles: underwear, whites, casual clothes, delicates, and then, an enormous pile of socks. Sonny snorts at the sight of it. He's amazed they're not both out of socks given that enough are piled up they can be their own load. He drops all the socks into the basket and carries it back to the laundry closet to leave on top of the dryer. By the time the socks are dry, Rafael will need a break from sorting the books, and they can decide what to order for lunch while they match pairs. Sonny smiles in quiet pleasure as he closes the door to the laundry closet and goes to fetch the broom from the home office closet. He can get the kitchen swept and mopped since they won't need it for lunch, and then maybe he'll dust the office. Or maybe he'll settle next to Rafael and hand him books as he gets things organized to his liking and needs an extra set of hands. 

Days like this--nothing to do but be close to each other and take care of their home--they're some of the best days Sonny has. They recharge him like nothing else, quietly working alongside Rafael making their home and their life as comfortable as they like it. 

He props the broom against the kitchen counter and picks up the coffee pot, walking over to Rafael to pour him another cup and steal a quick kiss as long as he's there. Rafael returns the kiss and hands him the book he's chosen as Sonny's next bath read. Sonny doesn't even glance at the cover as he tucks it under his arm. Rafael knows his preferences. He'll have picked something good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to M for the beta!


End file.
